Woodstock 2009

Forty years ago several thousand people gathered in a farmer’s field to enjoy some music by some of the biggest names of the day and to spread the word about the hippie message of peace and love. The rain that turned the field into mud did not dampen the spirits of those who had gathered. Today that farmer’s field is now the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts and on August 15 it will be the site of a reunion concert featuring some of the same bands who graced the stage all those years ago.

Called the Heroes of Woodstock the Levon Helm Band, Jefferson Starship (in 1969 they were Jefferson Airplane), Ten Years After, Canned Head, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Mountain, tom Constanten, and Country Joe McDonald are scheduled to play the Bethel Woods Musical Festival which begins at 5pm. Tickets for the festival are $19.69 for the lawn like days of old, $40, and $69 and go on sale Friday May 8 at 10am. Tickets will cost $5 more on the day of the festival. Every person who buys a ticket will also receive a free download of the performance which will be available for 72 hours after the concert. The website will be announced and ticket buyers must have a valid email and a special code. Performances by The Levon Helm Band and Mountain are not included in the free download.

For two generations children have been hearing about the great concert of 1969 in an upstate New York farmer’s field, now those children and grandchildren will have the opportunity to experience the phenomenon known as Woodstock!